Kimbo Slice outright slaughtered late-replacement Bo Cantrell (Pictures) on Saturday in a way that made it seem as if he had been doing this professional mixed martial arts thing for years.

I've never taken anybody seriously whose credentials were "street fighter by trade," but gosh: Slice looked like a seasoned vet in his EliteXC debut.

Also known around his household as Kevin Ferguson (Pictures), Slice didn't flail away with reckless abandon like many wannabe tough guys. When Cantrell, a legitimate veteran of the sport (though not exactly an upper-tier fighter), dashed out of his corner with a spinning backfist, Slice just let it fly past his Appalachian-esque beard and waited for an opening.

Nineteen seconds later, Cantrell was seeing stars, counting birdies, hearing bells and performing every other timeless knockout cliché known to mankind. Though the fight only proved what many already knew in regards to Kimbo's punching power, it answered nothing as to just how much of an all-around fighter he has become.

Answers to those questions will come in due time. For now it's easy to see just where Slice stands and how valuable a commodity he is to Showtime and EliteXC.

Even if the Miami-based brawler with Bahamian heritage winds up following in the same long-term rip-off footsteps as Bob Sapp (Pictures), there's no telling how powerful his presence alone can be for EliteXC in the meantime. With Gary Shaw and Showtime's promotional prowess backing the brutish fighter, the sky is the limit for Kimbo.

One needs to look no further than his nose to see the potential of Kimbo's drawing power. Granted he didn't face even a B-level fighter in Cantrell, and he could be exposed as a fraud in his next bout. But just by listening to the raucous ovation he received while walking to the cage, the proof is there that his popularity is almost on the level of some of the UFC's biggest stars.

Is Kimbo as talented as guys like Randy Couture (Pictures), "Minotauro" Nogueira or Fedor Emelianenko (Pictures)? No one can say right now, but that really doesn't matter and, quite frankly, it never truly did.

While America is not as overzealous with circus-like larger-than-life personalities as Japan, craziness sells almost as much as sex here in the States. And when it comes to the fight game, nothing sells tickets like exciting fighters. In fact, some of the greatest fighters have not had the ability to sell more than a few hundred tickets; greatness doesn't always equate to exciting. That's where Kimbo steps in perfectly.

In this day and age of the Internet, arguably the most powerful medium on the globe, Kimbo is the king. The man had an enormous following in the hundreds of thousands before he even had a sanctioned professional MMA bout. Now that he has been displayed for the world to see on Showtime and seeing how quickly he destroyed Cantrell, there's no telling how far his popularity will go.

Time will tell whether Kimbo is a legitimate fighter who can make a credible impact on the sport in terms of beating, or at least competing with, elite-level heavyweights.

He's clearly years away from that point, but this is a bottom-line business, and EliteXC had better do whatever it can to keep this cat under contract. Dana White has gone on record on a few occasions stating that he doesn't want "freak shows" in his Octagon, but over time he'll probably kick himself for not locking down Kimbo.

EliteXC has made some good moves by teaming up with Showtime, scooping up a few smaller shows and pitting credible fighters against each other.

Now they have Kimbo Slice, a fighter who will probably never score a win over any of the A-level fighters of his generation. But that means little these days, as excitement and fan interest are what make promoters filthy rich. Just ask the men who handled the careers of Arturo Gatti, Sapp, Primo Carnera and, to a degree, Mike Tyson.

A Few Rematches, Eh?

The main event of EliteXC's latest card was a thriller between perennial tough guy Nick Diaz (Pictures) and relative MMA newcomer KJ Noons. Diaz was getting beaten to the punch for the entire first round, and he was dropped and suffered two gruesome cuts -- one over each eye.

Diaz may have wound up losing to Noons anyway, but the toughest fighter from Stockton, Calif., never gives up. It's easily within reason to bank on the possibility of another exhilarating victory for Diaz.

While I don't disagree that fighters who suffer cuts due to legal strikes are victims of technical knockouts, I wish that an immediate rematch would be mandated after the bout.

Fans hate it when fights are stopped because of cuts, fighters hate it and promoters hate it -- especially when the battle is as good as Diaz-Noons and Kyle Noke (Pictures)-Seth Kleinbeck (Pictures) were. Both of those matchups were sensational. Not to take anything away from the two victors, Noons and Noke, but those fights should have immediate rematches.

And that goes for any fight that ends via cut or injury in the future. I highly doubt anybody would disagree with that notion.

Misc. Debris

So former undisputed heavyweight boxing champion Riddick Bowe is thinking about tackling MMA? And he actually believes that he'll hold a major title in MMA and boxing at the same time? And he's in his 40s?

Bowe, who has been suffering from obvious slurred speech since his classic second war with Andrew "Foul Pole" Golota, quit in his latest boxing comeback a few years ago. Sure, he won his two fights, but his last bout was a 10-round struggle (and I stress struggle) with journeyman Billy Zumbrun. He also tried to join the Marines in 1996 but was tossed out a few days into boot camp due to being completely useless. He also kidnapped his wife and kids, which landed him a stint in prison.

Now we're supposed to believe Bowe is going to win a world title not only in boxing, which is next to impossible, but also in mixed martial arts? I thought Evander Holyfield was delirious. …

I disagree with Zuffa deeming the lightweight showdown between B.J. Penn (Pictures) and Joe Stevenson a fight for the "interim" lightweight title. Almost nothing irritates me more in the fight game than corny "interim" belts. What Zuffa should have done was strip current champion Sean Sherk (Pictures) for his failed post-fight urinalysis following his win over Hermes Franca (Pictures) and then make the Penn-Stevenson fight for the actual lightweight title. When Sherk's name is cleared, allow him to be the mandatory challenger to whoever holds the title. …

Am I the only one disappointed that the killer chess match between Jake Shields (Pictures) and Mike Pyle (Pictures) ended so quickly? Obviously Shields got the rear-naked choke fair and square, but the fight was just so great that I was bummed when it ended in less than four minutes. I was hoping that one was going to last well into the third round. Oh well, there's always hope for a rematch. …

Who else thinks that Antonio Silva should stay down at heavyweight? That boy is a force to be reckoned with and has the talent to lay waste to many upper-tier heavyweights out there. That's not even debatable. …

Poor Yves Edwards (Pictures). That guy just can't get a good deal. Here is clearly one of the most exciting fighters in the game, and he can't even land a spot on the televised portion of the EliteXC card. What's next, he'll only be allowed to fight in the backroom of Hotdog on a Stick?

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